t's a manic month and sometimes we let all the stuff we have to do get to us in the form of Pre-Christmas stress. It's time to pause, reflect and think about how you're going to get through December without reaching burnout. This is where I've got some tips to share.

Christmas is by far the season in which people feel they HAVE to give because everybody does it, because that's what Christmas is all about or because that's how it's supposed to be. It's grown into 'the bigger the better' but is that really so? How authentic are we giving this Christmas?

Christmas is the time of cheer and happiness. But how many of you are fretting about the getting together of relatives and in-laws, panicking about what to cook, wear, eat, do, buy, how to get on with the extended family, let alone your own - under the same roof, and for some, how to cope with loneliness at Christmas?

For the past nine years, I have broken away from the 'normal' Christmas mode, precisely because I found it so unbearable. So, what have I been doing for the past nine years over Christmas? I've been volunteering at a homeless project. And I love it.